Thank you for your offer in protecting the shipment taking place three days from now. After careful consideration, you were selected to assist in the transport of the supplies to Treehollow, a town outside of the main city walls with several day's travel to the location. The preferred deadline for the shipment is three days, but as long as it arrives at its destination payment will still be granted.

You will be working with a group of Shard Incorporated-employed guards, five in number, who will be manning an armoured jeep in front of the truck, which will be driven by two direct employees of the company's Vale Division. Please attempt to avoid any confrontation if possible.

The transport will stop every night for several hours, allowing for four to six hours sleep. Return transport will be provided the day after arrival at Treehollow.

You will be paid double average wage for each day of travel, with a bonus offered of several hundred lien if the transport arrives on time; we hope this will encourage further cooperation with the company as we extend our hands out to up-and-coming hunters and huntresses to form a long-lasting working relationship.

Your team is made up as follows:- Michael Vaktar, first year.- Juno Vert, first year.- Revya Vermillion, second year.- Running Brook Sienna, fourth year.

As such, Running Brook Sienna is given operational command. The convoy will be starting from a warehouse just within the walls of Vale, coordinates enclosed within this message.

The warehouse was located in a somewhat run-down area; while at first consideration this may have appeared odd, it provided the company with an inconspicuous area to temporarily store outgoing shipments before their convoys began. While traffic was relatively thick in the area, there was far fewer pedestrians; after all, it was a rather industrial location, with row after row of offices and storage areas. Access to the building, rather than entry through the main entrance, was provided by a staircase leading up to a side-door that allowed for pedestrian access.

Inside the building itself was a vaguely comfortable lounge area, consisting of two beaten-down sofas and a small TV currently being flipped from a rewatch of the Vytal Festival to a cooking show as two of the employed soldiers fought over their preferred channels. the other two looked on in amusement, in between teasing the more timid employee of the company.

Their leader, a surprisingly thin man wearing what could only be described as a cowboy hat and a clean-shaven face, was leaning against a wall at the corner of the room, talking in hushed tones to the company's representative as they waited for the hunters and huntresses to arrive. Said representative was wearing the company's staple uniform, consisting of a cut-off lab coat, underneath a lightly armoured coat to provide some semblance of protection from any threats, with his physical features not visible from the door itself. The men were generally all rather plain looking, main differences being in their facial structure rather than their uniforms or their size.

(OOC: Thank you all for joining the thread! Most of the details can probably be gained from the passages above, but feel free to introduce your characters to each other as you meet up and head into the warehouse itself. Post order will be decided simply by whoever posts first, going up to all 4 people then followed by a response message from myself. If you wish for any other details, simply put it ooc in your posts or PM me if you need it to decide on a course of action! Have fun, and happy hunting!)

Brook walked down the street, barely running into any people though the constant stream of cars rolling by did keep her company. "Where is this place? It should be riiiiiiight.... here." She said, finally walking up to the old looking warehouse. Stepping inside, she looked around before finding the office, knocking and opening the door. "Shard incorporated, right?" She said to the two employees arguing over the remote, seeing them first before the two talking in the corner. The woman was dressed rather informally, wearing her usual attire, save for a purple shirt underneath the jacket. She had on her weapon, slung low on her hips, resting on her butt, and backpack that had the bare essentials. Clothes, a small container of cooking ware, some rations, and her scroll plus a power bank. Girl can't have her scroll die now, could she?

'Shard Incorporated. I should have figured I would see them outside of Atlas. Especially considering my father's work here.' he thought, his car being driven to the warehouse by his family's pilot. While Shard Incorporated and the Vaktar Corporation have never exactly been opposed to each other, Shard does tend to clog the system of imports and exports from Atlas more than most other companies. With the Vaktar Corporation being a smaller company, they tended to be lower in priority for inter-kingdom shipping.

The car pulled in front of the warehouse, Michael stepping out just before his locker lands a few feet away from him. He would bid his pilot farewell and step into his armor before grabbing his shield and recalling his locker. He was fairly easily heard as he walked into the warehouse.

Michael opened the door to the warehouse, stepping inside without saying a word. He walked up to the man wearing the Shard Industries uniform. "Michael Vaktar, checking in." he said, towering over both figures. He was not trying to be intimidating at all, he just was taking his time to make sure he did not say anything stupid.

After Michael had arrived a loud screech could be heard as Revya. Who had been usong the warehouse carpark to ride Ladybug around in a way he couldn't on the road came to a quick stop as his scroll vibrated in his pocket indicating that it was time to go in. Stepping off the bike and noticong the side door Rev went straight up the steps not realising he had neglected to remove his helmet.

Logged

1st year reckless idiot of team LGGR- Gray Saggio- "oh screw it. I'll just hit it till it dies!" 660066

He was late. Of course he was late. Ever since Caja had been released from the infirmary, Juno had to help her with her daily routine. It really was a pity what had happened to the girl, and the fact that she voiced the thought of leaving Beacon was yet another point of contention. She was safe at Beacon, and leaving could put her right back into danger. Especially since she couldn't fight back...

A light sigh escaped his lips as he made his way through the open warehouse doors, a light pack over his shoulder. Samuel had mentioned something about a "Shard Inc." having developed his prosthetics. Their being Atlas based piqued some interest, but their connection to Samuel was more important. Besides, he needed something productive to do. Dwelling on Caja's condition and the destruction of the ANUBIS suit would get him nowhere.

The trio of students that were to be his teammates definitely seemed interesting. Michael was a familiar, if slightly unwelcome face, given their last encounter, but the others were new. Clearing his throat to announce his presence, Juno took a spot beside the giant as Phi materialized, sitting on his shoulder. "Juno Vert, checking in."

The group of hired guns give a glance over at the group as they find their ways in, before their attention is quickly drawn back to their various activities. Apparently, they're not unused to the more eccentric appearances of hunters and huntresses.

On the other hand, the lead from Shard Incorporated looks away from his previous conversational partner, taking in the quartet in front of him for a moment before smiling. "Ah, the rest of the group has arrived! Welcome! Yes, yes, this is the place that was described in the message." The man holds his hand out in an invitation for a handshake. "It is a pleasure to meet so many up-and-coming hunters and huntresses at once!" He states, giving any of the students who wanted one a handshake before patting the man next to him on the back. "However, outside of questions about the items and location itself, you will probably be more interested in talking to my associate here."

The man in the odd cowboy hat looks at the group, giving a chuckle. "Wow, quite the group we got 'ere, eh? Well, you all look relatively capable. If you'd like to join me at the map over here, I'll give ya a quick briefing on how we gonna go about this mission together. Which wanna you lot in command?" The man beckons the group towards the center table of the room, where a more old-fashioned map is splayed out over the top.

Brook turned to look as each of the rest of her "team" arrived. Huh, younger years. Man, did I look like that three years ago? She thought to herself, putting her hands on her hips. As they were greeted, she gave a curt nod and listened closely. A few years of experience taught her that briefings were usually important. "We're Beacon. We're always capable." Brook beamed proudly, flashing the man in the cowboy hat a wide toothy grin as she walked over to the table, standing beside him to look down at the map. "And I'm the highest year which means I'm in charge," She said, turning to look at the lower years, "That alright with you guys? Or do any of you wanna take point?" She asked. It was always easier to follow anyways but if anything out of hand DID happen, she'd step up.

Michael looked to the rest of his compatriots as they entered, gaining a slight smirk as he saw Juno. He took the opportunity to shake the representative's hand, his grip practiced and professional. As the group gathered around the table, he took a place in between the man in the cowboy hat and the woman who was apparently leading all of them. "That is fine by me. You lead, I'll follow." he said, giving the girl a nod of approval.

"I have no issues. You would likely have the most experience in the field out of all of us." Juno remarked, shaking the representative's hand once he had given his two chits. A light smile crossed his lips as Phi waved at the representative, only for the young man to turn his gaze back toward the giant. Sure, they had gotten off on absolutely terrible terms, but it wasn't unfeasible that they could get along. They kinda had to, anyway, for the sake of successfully completing the mission.

Ah, they'd cross that bridge when they got to it. For now, they just needed more information about what they were up against.

The scientist looked back at the AI with curiosity evident in his eyes, giving a slightly stunned wave back. While the small exchange too place, the more combat-orientated man of the two gave a nod at the small exchange. "Well, sounds like you gon' done decided that, then. Well, over here then." Opening up the slightly weathered parchment, a map of Vale and the surrounding areas was displayed across the table. Fumbling in his pocket for a second, the man brought out a few pins, humming for a moment before spotting what he was looking for and putting two pins into the map; one in Vale itself and one further out.

"Well, 'ere's our starting point and our end goal. Estimate's about two to three days with the latter being the deadline; any longer n' that and our pay gets docked, so let's try avoid that eh?" He states, with a grin on his face. "We'll be stoppin' about twice on the way, three at most, for maybe four to six hours at a time for rest. You'll have plenty of time to recharge once this 'ere operation is over at the town itself. It'll be up to you what you lot want to travel on; there's a tad bit of space in the jeep and some on the truck; basically whether you want to be cramped with people or with cargo. If you got your own vehicles and they got enough fuel, feel free to add 'em - the truck'll be making enough of a ruckus that another car or two would really make a big impact in what we attractin' in terms of bandits, but the trail's rough so maybe avoid anything you don't wanna see dented, eh?" Hearing the volume of the other soldiers rising up, he turns his head to face them and barks out "You lot, keep it quiet, you'll have time for that lot on the road!" Met with a couple of sheepish grins, he lets his own expression turn into one and shakes his head, apparently used to the behavior.

"Well, now that all the political stuff's all gone and done, nice to meet ya all. My name's Willow, and those pack of grunts over there are my little squad. We got hired along with you lot, so let's try to get all along nicely, yea?"

The representative takes the moment to step forward. "Well, uh, I suppose we should get going soon! After all, time is of the essence. The truck is nearly ready, so I suppose all you need to do is make sure you're all fully prepared, and, well, we'll be off!"

Hearing him call her over, Brooke walked to stand next to the man with the map, eyeing it curiously. Who used paper maps and pins nowadays? I mean, he had a scroll, right? "Two or three days, huh? Guess it's good I packed a change of clothes." She mumbled softly to herself as she listened, not really speaking to anyone but simply thinking out loud. "Well, I doubt the whole team will need to be at full attention for the entire ride between pit stops. Those not on guard duty can rest to keep their strength up." She said, letting her team hear the plan even as they were being briefed.

As Willow addressed his men, Brook gave a low chuckle that shook her shoulders. "We should be just fine. Keep your guys in line and I'll do the same with my team. Should be back home soon enough~" She said, turning to look at the rest of the Beacon students. "Alright, big and important questions first...." She paused for dramatic effect. "Who wants to ride the truck and who wants the jeep? And... am I really the only chick round here?"

Michael remained at attention during the briefing, setting his massive shield down in front of him. The plan seemed simple enough, and bandits usually weren't prepared enough to take down nearly a dozen people. It sounded like a cakewalk.

"I think it would be best if I stayed in the truck. My armor's heavy, and it could throw off the balance of the jeep on unstable roads. As for your other question, blame the other female students for not signing up, ma'am." he said, addressing the fourth year.

Revya still had his helmet on. At this point that was likely a good tjing since it masked his smile at being told other vehicles could be added to the haul and then widened when it was evident he had not been mistaken for a girl like so many times before. "I have my own vehicle. Enlugg fuel for it too."

Logged

1st year reckless idiot of team LGGR- Gray Saggio- "oh screw it. I'll just hit it till it dies!" 660066

Juno gave little more than a shrug at the stunned scientist. An AI of Phi's caliber would do as she did, and so long as said actions didn't get them in trouble, he was fine with it. She was close to a person, after all, and a very curious one at that. It was of little surprise to him that Phi got closer to the map, taking a seat at the edge of the table, as though she were memorizing the layout. The AI's gaze snapped toward Brooke when the fourth year questioned if she was the only female on the team, however, breaking her concentration on the map to internally debate whether or not she should speak up.

Before Phi could tell off the young woman, Juno stepped in. "Phi and I can take the jeep. Makes navigation a lot easier on all of us." he stated, placing a hand next to the hardlight form of the AI. He didn't need anyone starting a fight, and so long as he could keep the peace, he was golden.